We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 24 May 2016 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

The Market Place Family Dental Centre is a dental practice providing mostly NHS dental treatments located in premises close to the centre of Mansfield. There is short term car parking available to the front of the practice and this includes disabled parking. There were six treatment rooms including one on the ground floor.

The practice was first registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in May 2013. The practice provides regulated dental services to both adults and children. Services provided include general dentistry, dental hygiene, crowns and bridges, and root canal treatment.

The practice’s opening hours are: Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm.

Access for urgent treatment outside of opening hours is by telephoning the practice and following the instructions on the answerphone message. Dentists at the practice were part of an emergency out-of-hours service. Alternatively patients could telephone the NHS 111 number.

The area manager is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

The practice has six dentists; one qualified dental nurse; five trainee dental nurses; one receptionist and a practice manager.

We received positive feedback from 41 patients about the services provided. This was through CQC comment cards left at the practice prior to the inspection and by speaking with patients in the practice.

Our key findings were:

• Patients provided positive feedback about their experiences at the practice. Patients said they were treated with dignity and respect; and dentists involved them in discussions about treatment options and answered questions.
• Patients’ confidentiality was maintained.
• There were systems in place to record accidents, significant events and complaints, and where learning points were identified these were shared with staff.
• The records showed that apologies had been given for any concerns or upset that patients had experienced at the practice.
• The practice followed the relevant guidance from the Department of Health's: ‘Health Technical Memorandum 01-05 (HTM 01-05) for infection control with regard to cleaning and sterilizing dental instruments.
• There was a whistleblowing policy accessible to all staff, who were aware of procedures to follow if they had any concerns.
• Records showed there were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.

The practice had the necessary equipment for staff to deal with medical emergencies, and staff had been trained how to use that equipment. This included an automated external defibrillator, oxygen and emergency medicines.

During our visit to Market Place Family Dental Centre we spoke with four patients and six members of staff, including the practice manager, the registered manager, the clinical quality and care manager, the practice support officer, a trainee dental nurse and one dentist.

We also spoke with two representatives from the Yorkshire and Humberside Postgraduate Deanery which provides support for trainee doctors and dentists in the region. They told us they had established links with the practice for the purpose of mentoring and support for dentists who had qualified abroad and wished to practice in the United Kingdom.

Staff we spoke with told us it was a very good place to work. They said, "We are a good team and I like working here. The practice managers are approachable and easy to talk to. We have excellent training and support throughout."

The practice has recently achieved a gold standard ‘investors in people award.’ (The Investors in People Standards tell you what good people management looks like.)

We saw that the reception area was comfortable and warm. There was a lot of information for patients to read and there was a television for them to watch which showed advice on oral health and dental care. It also showed a programme for children to teach them how to brush their teeth. One patient we spoke with said, “My children love watching the T.V. about how they clean their teeth.”

On the day of our visit the surgery was very busy but we saw people were welcomed and treated calmly in an unhurried manner.

The environment was clean and un-cluttered and the surgeries we saw were well maintained and felt very welcoming. There were blinds at the windows in order to maintain people's privacy and dignity.